Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus, a control method therefor, and a storage medium, and in particular to an image forming apparatus having a process cartridge, a control method therefor, and a storage medium.
Description of the Related Art
A process cartridge which is a consumable supply for a printer which is an image forming apparatus is known. The process cartridge is an all-in-one cartridge comprised of a plurality of components, and more specifically, a photosensitive drum, a developing device that develops an image on the photosensitive drum, and a toner supply unit that supplies toner to the developing device. A printer having the process cartridge provides notification of a life span of the process cartridge so as to let a user determine when the process cartridge needs replacing. For example, conventional printers obtain life span information on life spans of the respective components of the process cartridge and calculate a life span of the whole process cartridge based on the obtained life span information on the components. Also, the conventional printers provide notification of the calculation result as the life span of the process cartridge (see, for example, Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication (Kokai) No. 2003-195699). This enables a user to know when the process cartridge needs replacing without checking life spans of the individual components of the process cartridge.
However, there may be cases where the conventional printers cannot provide notification of the life span of the process cartridge. For example, when the process cartridge is not a predetermined process cartridge, the conventional printers are able to obtain life span information on only of the components of the process cartridge due to system specifications, and in this case, life span information on a component that cannot be obtained is processed as an indefinite value. The conventional printers are configured not to calculate the life span of the whole process cartridge when there is the indefinite value, and hence notification of the life span of the process cartridge is not provided. Therefore, when the process cartridge is not a predetermined process cartridge, the conventional printers cannot prompt a user to replace the process cartridge.